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Digital customs agencies: Five trends shaping the future

Find out how customs agencies can adapt to technology changes happening in the supply chain.

Overview

Accenture’s annual Technology Vision seeks to identify the top trends that will impact major organizations in the next few years, highlighting the technology innovations leaders must plan for. How are the five trends in the Technology Vision 2015 impacting customs agencies and their leaders as they enter a new era of digital trade ecosystems to deliver public service for the future?

Key FindingsTREND 1Internet of Me: Public services personalized.
Across the customs supply chain, traders, agents, freight forwarders, carriers and border agencies are embracing new digital technologies. To remain attractive destinations for trade, customs agencies must personalize their services and provide more engaging user experiences—making life easier for the trading community, other border agencies and customs staff.

TREND 2Outcome Economy: Linking digital and physical to drive outcomes.
Increasingly low cost hardware in the form of sensors, combined with greater processing power, is helping customs agencies to understand what is happening at the edge of their networks.

TREND 3Platform (R)evolution: Platform-based public services.
New waves of innovation are driving an urgent need for a common digital platform across the customs supply chain. Using well-defined architectures, governance and services, new digital platforms will be accessible by the entire trade ecosystem, as well as third party service providers.

TREND 4Intelligent Enterprise: Huge data, smarter software—better outcomes.
Customs agencies are getting smarter. By mastering their data, leading customs agencies will be able to provide actionable insights to pre-emptively tackle fraud and risk, promote legitimate trade and also create more personalized experiences for their users.

TREND 5Workforce Reimagined: Governing at the intersection of humans and machines.
New technologies such as wearables and the Internet of Things are driving customs agencies to rethink their existing talent deployment and operational processes.

Recommendations

TREND 1Internet of Me: Public services personalized.
To remain attractive destinations for trade, customs agencies must personalize their services and provide more engaging user experiences—making life easier for the trading community, other border agencies and customs staff.

TREND 2Outcome Economy: Linking digital and physical to drive outcomes.
Customs agencies must adapt to the new data available in the supply chain. They will create quicker and lower cost customs procedures through smarter coordination for traders and better supply chain visibility for customs.

TREND 3Platform (R)evolution: Platform-based public services.
By providing a one stop shop that combines intelligence, collectively assesses risk, allows the sharing of resources and gives entities a single point of contact, new platforms can help to redefine the customs industry.

TREND 4Intelligent Enterprise: Huge data, smarter software—better outcomes.
By better connecting customs agency IT systems with the private sector and sharing more classified information with trusted partners, customs officers will be able to use mobile technology to feed back real-time data that will help identify and defeat terrorists and organized crime networks, and defend against the illicit importation of drugs and firearms.

TREND 5Workforce Reimagined: Governing at the intersection of humans and machines.
As more advanced technologies reduce the manpower required to perform certain tasks such as checking freight, people can be redeployed into new areas such as data analysis. By training existing staff in emerging technologies, hiring for new skill sets and adapting operations, customs agencies will increase performance and free up limited resources for more value-adding tasks.